Lyrl's recent activity
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Comment on Not so empty nesters: record-high number of US adults under 35 live at home, new data says in ~life
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Comment on Not so empty nesters: record-high number of US adults under 35 live at home, new data says in ~life
Lyrl Link ParentA quick Google search got me this page: https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/22956/chicago/population Which claims the Chicago metro area has increased in population about half a...A quick Google search got me this page: https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/22956/chicago/population
Which claims the Chicago metro area has increased in population about half a percent or 50,000 people every year the last several years.
The Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Chicago) has population history of the city proper (rather than the full metro area), but only for the census years. The most recent census in 2020 showed a population increase of 1.9% or 50,000 people since 2010.
I would consider that "growing".
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Comment on Not so empty nesters: record-high number of US adults under 35 live at home, new data says in ~life
Lyrl Link ParentThe problems of shortage and wealth building mindset are intertwined. Shortages drive up prices, which gets people used to property ownership building wealth, and makes property owners fight any...The problems of shortage and wealth building mindset are intertwined. Shortages drive up prices, which gets people used to property ownership building wealth, and makes property owners fight any public policy that would decrease property value, which worsens shortages.
Also, where has population been stable? My impression is the large majority of cities are either noticeably growing or shrinking.
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Comment on Not so empty nesters: record-high number of US adults under 35 live at home, new data says in ~life
Lyrl (edited )Link ParentThe "headline number" that reporters put in headlines only counts people actively looking for work, but the underlying BLS report has six unemployment measures in every publication: U-1 long-term...The "headline number" that reporters put in headlines only counts people actively looking for work, but the underlying BLS report has six unemployment measures in every publication:
- U-1 long-term unemployed still actively seeking work
- U-2 recently unemployed actively seeking work
- U-3 all unemployed actively seeking work (headline number)
- U-4 all unemployed either actively seeking work, or not seeking work because they don't believe a search would succeed (discouraged workers)
- U-5 all unemployed (people who want a job) regardless of whether or why they are or aren't actively searching (marginally attached workers)
- U-6 all unemployed plus people working part-time who want to work full-time but aren't finding jobs that will give them full-time hours.
Of course U3 is a lower number than U4-6, because by definition it counts less people, but all six measures tend to move up and down together. A variety of labor force participation rates are also in the report, as well as wage information, which is where people losing higher paying jobs and accepting lower paying ones would show up. The different measures are each useful for different kinds of research and insights, but I think it's a misunderstanding to say a particular U-type is an undercount.
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Comment on The room the economy can’t see in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentIt's been a thing in Alaska for half a century. No, the Permanent Fund dividend is not enough to live on, but it creates a floor that gives people the kind of flexibility this article is...It's been a thing in Alaska for half a century. No, the Permanent Fund dividend is not enough to live on, but it creates a floor that gives people the kind of flexibility this article is advocating for.
Some advocates for basic income are "full living income or bust" types, but I see that as the perfect being the enemy of the good. We can get something started, start getting the benefits to people and communities in the near-term, and then see if it can be built on from there. I have hope.
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentDisappointing. I pulled up my email from invites@tildes.net from June 2023, and the reply only took three days. My sidebar has "invite someone" under the Misc section, and that must have appeared...Disappointing. I pulled up my email from invites@tildes.net from June 2023, and the reply only took three days. My sidebar has "invite someone" under the Misc section, and that must have appeared pretty quickly because I sent my husband an invite three days after receiving the join link from Deimos. Sorry to learn the invite experience is rockier now, not sure what that means for long term community health.
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentI got my invite by emailing, and got I think ten codes to hand out, although only ever used one. This was a few years ago, though, have things changed?I got my invite by emailing, and got I think ten codes to hand out, although only ever used one. This was a few years ago, though, have things changed?
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Comment on What’s something that didn’t work for you? in ~talk
Lyrl Link ParentMy husband has a similar experience, where it seems like my reduced stress from not listening to extended silence followed by great big gasps for air on repeat is the main change. He has commented...My husband has a similar experience, where it seems like my reduced stress from not listening to extended silence followed by great big gasps for air on repeat is the main change. He has commented that he used to have a headache all the time, and with the BiPAP he only gets headaches occasionally, so that's something.
I believe he has some other issue sapping his energy, and has had this other issue for years predating any apnea. However, he watched me go through numerous doctor visits over five years to get my diagnosis for being unreasonably easily fatigued (POTS), for which there aren't any good treatments (mainly coping strategies, and some things that take the edge off for some people), and decided he wasn't up for that. So whatever he has will remain mysterious.
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
Lyrl Link ParentAll-electric trains are a thing, sure. For some routes they are the best option. For routes that extends significantly beyond where wire has been built, diesel engines fill that gap.All-electric trains are a thing, sure. For some routes they are the best option. For routes that extends significantly beyond where wire has been built, diesel engines fill that gap.
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
Lyrl Link ParentWhat was the weather like the weeks you borrowed the car? I got a Prius in October, and it got low 40s mpg all winter. Popped up to high 50s as soon as the temps were consistently above freezing....What was the weather like the weeks you borrowed the car? I got a Prius in October, and it got low 40s mpg all winter. Popped up to high 50s as soon as the temps were consistently above freezing.
Also, I believe tuning details on the hybrids make optimal driving styles for hybrid car fuel efficiency different than it is for cars with only ICE engines. Your expertise with the Civic might have been working against you with the Camry.
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Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentIf we have to live in a society where a majority of people are assholes, I see limiting the analysis to labeling them assholes as self-defeating. They have critical mass: our attempts to shame...If we have to live in a society where a majority of people are assholes, I see limiting the analysis to labeling them assholes as self-defeating. They have critical mass: our attempts to shame them have insufficient power to change their behavior.
Evaluating what things have changed their behavior, and using that knowledge to strategize on how to systematically pull some of those levers to move our society towards a more comfortable place for ourselves, is a productive activity.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 27 in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentThe circumstance of people who are pro-death penalty mostly supporting methods likely to be horrific deaths, and the people who would prefer humane deaths mostly having a first choice of no death...The circumstance of people who are pro-death penalty mostly supporting methods likely to be horrific deaths, and the people who would prefer humane deaths mostly having a first choice of no death penalty, is a weird dynamic. Humane death methods don't get much advocacy or support because the people who prefer that are spending all their energy advocating against the death penalty.
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Comment on Almost half of EU’s busiest flight routes are ‘hard or impossible’ to book on trains in ~transport
Lyrl Link ParentIf government infrastructure planning was done sensibly, trains would be cheapest for medium-haul between-city passenger travel, and planes would be cheapest for long-haul passenger travel, or...If government infrastructure planning was done sensibly, trains would be cheapest for medium-haul between-city passenger travel, and planes would be cheapest for long-haul passenger travel, or routes where the geography made track impractical to lay.
Even with infrastructure that makes sense, planes are more economical for longer passenger routes. A train has maintenance needs for every point between the departing and arriving locations. The track has to be inspected, repaired, in the case of interchanges staffed, and as volume of passengers or types of cars changes upgraded. A plane has to maintain the plane itself and the airports, but the air in between requires no maintenance, and doesn't have to be upgraded to support a different type of plane.
The longer times on a train also increase cost, as more food and bathroom facilities have to be available, and for the longest routes passenger density declines because enough room has to be provided for sleeping.
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Comment on What I learned about billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s private retreat in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentSomeone with altruistic impulses is much less likely to become a billionaire in the first place. They would make a transition from generating additional wealth to maintaining or drawing down their...Someone with altruistic impulses is much less likely to become a billionaire in the first place. They would make a transition from generating additional wealth to maintaining or drawing down their assets well before reaching ten figure's worth of assets.
As R3qn65 brought up, there are a lot of not-evil billionaires. But the process of becoming a billionaire selects out the most sociable humans, and the end result is a concentration of personalities harmful to the general good that is many multiples of the rate of the general population.
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Comment on Falling demand for cardboard boxes — long a proxy for consumer spending — is raising concerns about the US economy in ~finance
Lyrl Link ParentI think the idea that sustainability is bad for economic metrics is a misunderstanding. If people were spending less and hoarding the savings under a mattress, that would be bad for the economy....I think the idea that sustainability is bad for economic metrics is a misunderstanding. If people were spending less and hoarding the savings under a mattress, that would be bad for the economy.
If people were spending less on gasoline and landfilling less stuff, and used the savings to enrich their lives in other ways - eating out more, going to theater, going to watch local bands, etc - that would be good for the economy by being a higher proportion of local spending and more long-term sustainable.
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Comment on Gemma needs help in ~comp
Lyrl Link ParentThanks for the elaboration, I agree with everything you wrote and it was helpful and interesting to have the additional context. I think over-anthropomorphizing is an issue even if AI experience...Thanks for the elaboration, I agree with everything you wrote and it was helpful and interesting to have the additional context. I think over-anthropomorphizing is an issue even if AI experience emotion, because their drivers (whether purely programmatic or influenced by some emotion or emotion-like experience) are alien to ours.
LLMs are designed and trained to "want" to please humans, but in a very superficial way - very much in the vein you pointed out about minimizing distress in humans not being the same as minimizing distressed language from humans, but they are only trained to minimize distressed language. They don't "want" to be friends in any sense of the word besides sycophancy, which seems to be severely damaging to a small percentage of humans (the AI psychosis cases), and likely to be more mildly-to-moderately harmful for a much larger percentage.
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Comment on EU hopes Hungarian election will bring end to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's blockades in ~society
Lyrl LinkI hadn't realized enough democratic structures were left in Hungary that Orban losing an election would be viewed as a serious possibility. Thanks for posting, that is positive to learn.I hadn't realized enough democratic structures were left in Hungary that Orban losing an election would be viewed as a serious possibility. Thanks for posting, that is positive to learn.
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Comment on Reddit will implement human verification to tag and combat bots in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentIt's difficult to imagine a price point that is low enough to be widely accessible for one account, but high enough to discourage multi-account sophisticated SEO strategies. The amount of money...It's difficult to imagine a price point that is low enough to be widely accessible for one account, but high enough to discourage multi-account sophisticated SEO strategies. The amount of money that can be raked in by successfully making your brand widely known (bonus if with a positive connotation) is just so large, the motivation is strong to find an exploit. To a point, the exploits being difficult just drives up the value, because then there is less competition once you are inside.
But I hope someone figures it out and successfully implements a community without hidden corporate shills.
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Comment on Gemma needs help in ~comp
Lyrl Link ParentKind of related to emotional language, claims of consciousness are also being explored by LLM researchers....Kind of related to emotional language, claims of consciousness are also being explored by LLM researchers. https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/switching-off-ais-ability-to-lie-makes-it-more-likely-to-claim-its-conscious-eerie-study-finds
The OP article is considering actions as well:
Gemini’s viral exploits - dramatically admitting defeat, deleting codebases, uninstalling itself… - already show anecdotal signs of emotions driving behaviours.
Definitely not proof of emotions - this echos human behaviors in the training data - but it's not "just" emotional language.
The recentness of widespread acceptance that fish feel pain, or that human infants feel pain (anesthetic for circumcision was considered pointless), makes me wary of assuming LLMs cannot feel distress unless some unimaginable new type of evidence comes into existence. Especially if there is no cost to performance, programmers leaning towards training solutions that minimize distressed emotional language in internal processing seems reasonable given even a small chance there is experienced distress.
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Comment on Gemma needs help in ~comp
Lyrl Link ParentWhat would constitute evidence of emotions? What a model does and says is heavily suspect as evidence because the utility optimization profoundly affects them, but I am not sure any other evidence...What would constitute evidence of emotions? What a model does and says is heavily suspect as evidence because the utility optimization profoundly affects them, but I am not sure any other evidence lines could exist.
It seems reasonable to entertain bad evidence if there is no possibility of good evidence.
If four people want one of three housing units, they will bid against each other until one of them decides to make a home elsewhere or two of them decide to be roommates. The price increase is driven by how much the person(s) who end up dropping out of the bidding can tolerate, not by the ratio of people to housing units. Even a small mismatch between housing demand and supply can cause large increases in pricing - the increase has to be large enough to convince however many "extra" aspiring households there are to make a home elsewhere or with roommates.